Xiling Village.
The Sichuan Bai Pole Soldiers had just finished another swift, brutal victory.
A minor bandit leader calling himself Jiu Di Gun had attempted to loot the village. The result was predictable. At the first clash, his men collapsed like rotten straw. Jiu Di Gun himself fled in panic, abandoning weapons, followers, and dignity alike.
When the dust finally settled, a dozen or so surviving villagers cautiously emerged from their cellars. Their faces were pale, their bodies shaking, as if they still feared the bandits might reappear at any moment.
Then they saw a young man standing in the open.
He was strikingly handsome, dressed simply, with a calm expression entirely out of place amid the ruins. He waved at them gently.
"Come," Li Daoxuan said. "Don't be afraid. Come closer."
The villagers hesitated, then slowly gathered.
Li Daoxuan motioned to his men, who distributed small pieces of silver into the villagers' hands.
"Take this," he said. "Go south to Lu'an Prefecture. Hide there for a while. Don't stay here."
The villagers were overwhelmed with gratitude, bowing again and again, voices overlapping with blessings and thanks.
As they calmed down, Li Daoxuan asked casually, "Is there a place called Houjia Village nearby?"
The villagers exchanged looks.
After a moment, an elderly man stepped forward. "Yes, sir. If you go north along the main road, about twenty li, there's a small village called Houjia Village. Nothing special there—no large families, no walls. May I ask why you're looking for it?"
Li Daoxuan's brow tightened.
Houjia Village.
So it had finally appeared.
Twenty li.
Too close.
Far too close.
From a distance, Zhang Fengyi glanced toward him. She had noticed that this Mister Xiao had been asking about Houjia Village everywhere they went.
She frowned slightly, then her thoughts drifted.
He's so fixated on Houjia Village… Could it be that when he was young, he once met a girl there? A childhood promise, a missed reunion? In times like these, with roads broken and people scattered, such things are all too common…
In ancient times, travel was slow.
There were no letters that always arrived.
No way to search for someone across provinces.
Some people, once missed, were gone forever.
Just then, a Bai Pole Soldier scout came galloping back, dust-covered and urgent.
"General!" the scout shouted. "Zijing Liang's main force is advancing. Led by Wang Ziyong. Estimated numbers—fifty thousand!"
Zhang Fengyi stiffened. "Fifty thousand?"
"Yes," the scout replied grimly. "I observed them from afar. Even excluding the old, the weak, women, and children, at least half are combat-ready."
Li Daoxuan's heart sank.
Houjia Village nearby. Fifty thousand rebels approaching.
Damn it.
This is exactly how it starts.
He opened his mouth, about to say—
Don't go north.
But Zhang Fengyi spoke first, her voice decisive.
"Fifty thousand against one thousand. We cannot meet them head-on."
She raised her arm sharply. "Order: the entire army withdraw southwest. We take refuge in Laoye Mountain."
Li Daoxuan froze. "Huh?"
This… wasn't what he expected.
She wasn't charging forward.
She wasn't blundering into the trap.
Zhang Fengyi was calm. Rational. A general who knew when to advance—and when not to.
"Move, quickly!" she urged the villagers. "Leave at once!"
Clutching the silver Li Daoxuan had given them, the villagers hurried south toward Lu'an Prefecture.
Only after confirming the village was completely empty did Zhang Fengyi give the order to withdraw.
Southwest of Xiling Village rose Laoye Mountain.
Later generations would know it as a strategically vital high ground—its name etched into history during the Shangdang Campaign of 1945. But now, it was nothing more than a vast, wild mountain: steep slopes, dense forests, tangled paths.
Bandits usually fled into mountains to evade government troops.
This time, it was the opposite.
With a massive rebel army pressing in, Zhang Fengyi chose the forest over the plains.
At the foot of Laoye Mountain, Li Daoxuan looked at his specially reinforced carriage and sighed.
It was useless here.
"No choice," he muttered. "From here on, I walk."
That also meant something else.
No more lazily letting the carriage carry the Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun while he jumped perspectives freely. From now on, he would have to control his body manually—and only switch perspectives while stationary.
Looks like it's time to dust off those old StarCraft multitasking skills.
Li Daoxuan tried.
He stepped forward—
Instant switch.
The Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun, seated on Gao Chuwu's shoulder, suddenly opened its mouth and sang:
"The sun shines bright—"
Switch back.
Second step.
Switch again.
"The flowers smile at me—"
Switch back.
Third step.
Switch.
"The little birds sing, 'Good morning, good morning—'"
Switch back.
"And ask why you're carrying a satchel of explosives—"
Gao Chuwu froze.
"Ah?! Dao Xuan Tianzun just started singing!" he exclaimed. "And asked why I'm carrying explosives!"
Xing Honglang glanced over, utterly calm. "Perhaps Dao Xuan Tianzun fears you're too simple-minded and is testing whether you still remember our mission."
Gao Chuwu scratched his head. "We're… going to fight bandits?"
Xing Honglang smiled faintly. "You remembered. Not bad."
"Heh heh."
"Chuwu!"
"Honglang!"
With a thump, the two embraced enthusiastically.
At that exact moment, Li Daoxuan switched perspectives again.
The Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun witnessed the scene in full.
The song died in its throat.
The flawless dual-line operation shattered instantly.
When Li Daoxuan hurriedly switched back, he realized too late—his body had already lost balance.
Thud.
He hit the ground.
Zhang Fengyi turned at once. "Mister Xiao! Are you alright?"
Li Daoxuan pushed himself up, coughing lightly. "I'm fine. Just… distracted."
Zhang Fengyi sighed gently. "Still thinking about Houjia Village?"
Li Daoxuan blinked. "Huh?"
"Some regrets," she said softly, "are best left in memory."
Li Daoxuan stared at her.
I'm thinking about your future death, General Zhang. How did this turn into a tragic romance?
He wisely chose silence.
The large carriage was concealed in the forest at the mountain's base. From there on, Li Daoxuan joined the Bai Pole Soldiers on foot.
The climb was brutal.
For the fifty militia soldiers accompanying him, every step felt like torture.
But the Sichuan Bai Pole Soldiers moved as if on flat ground.
They had grown up among mountains. Their stronghold, Wan Shou Zhai, was far more treacherous than this. Compared to that, Laoye Mountain was almost gentle.
They surged upward like flying arrows.
The militia, no matter how hard they struggled, fell farther and farther behind.
Above them, the forest swallowed the army whole.
And beyond the mountain, fifty thousand rebels were closing in.